noveldrama
Chapter 194
Chapter 194
Paimon, after enduring harrowing torment, was expelled from Seo Yujin’s soul.
To her, the suffering felt endless, but in reality, it lasted mere seconds.
So, when her soul returned to her body, her reaction left onlookers utterly baffled.
Thud.
“Guh… guuhh… urgh! BLUUUURGH!!”
Paimon collapsed to the ground, vomiting uncontrollably.
To her, this was a perfectly natural response.
She had been drifting through a river of rancid soul waste moments ago—worse yet, she’d accidentally swallowed some in the chaos.
How could she not retch?
But to everyone else watching her?
This was a woman who had burst onto the scene, poured immense mana into Yujin, and now stood vomiting mere moments later.
Even Yujin blinked, confused.
“Huh? Did our punching bag get wasted last night or—”
Interruptions
FWOOSH!
“President Seo Yujin!”
“Step back! It’s dangerous!”
For the other Awakened, the details didn’t matter.
Seol Hayeon had been attacked, and Yujin was Korea’s only S-Class. Protecting him was their top priority.
Before them stood a suspiciously powerful individual exuding immense mana. To top it off, she had horns, practically advertising her demonic nature.
Naturally, they sprang into action.
Within moments, Yujin was shielded on all sides by fierce protectors.
Surrounded
“…!!!? Wait, I’m fine—”
“Yujin, stay put!”
“She’s right! Her mana is even stronger than Ninomiya-san’s!”
In the chaos, Sia and Alice took their places at Yujin’s sides—not by coincidence.
For Yujin, however, this wasn’t the development he wanted.
His face betrayed a mix of frustration and dismay.
“Um, excuse me…”
“My perfectly planned confession!!!”
A Ruined Plan
Yujin was far from pleased.
He had anticipated Paimon’s dramatic entrance. His plan was to join forces with Aika to subdue her, then cap it all off with a grand confession.
Instead, Paimon’s antics—her sudden declaration of ownership, the bizarre mana gift, and now her impromptu vomiting—had shattered his careful preparation.
Now, Sia, Alice, and the other Awakened had forced their way into the scene, disrupting the timing for his confession.
On top of that, Paimon’s puking had destroyed any semblance of a romantic atmosphere.
Tears nearly welled in his eyes at the sheer injustice.
Five weeks of planning had gone up in smoke.
“Paimon… can’t you read the room?! You should’ve waited until after my confession!”
Aika’s Frustration
Aika felt no less aggrieved.
Her student had kissed her forehead and pushed her into a corner where losing gracefully was within reach.
His confession was practically imminent.
But Paimon’s sudden intrusion had ruined it all.
Instead of standing before a confessing disciple, Aika found herself staring at a retching Paimon.
The dream of receiving Yujin’s confession now felt utterly impossible.
Her gaze burned with unrestrained fury as she stared at Paimon.
“You dare… interfere with my disciple…?!”
“Urgh… blergh!? Wait, hold on—”
Paimon’s Realization
The aftermath of her torment blurred briefly as adrenaline kicked in, sharpening her mind.
“That thing inside him… that overwhelming suppression. Was it disguised under layers of mental conditioning?!”
Her eyes widened as she pieced it together.
“Wait, listen to me, Seo Yujin!”
She recalled the sight from Yujin’s soul:
A blinding white space and the ominous presence lurking within.
“There’s no time! You need to escape to another dimension immediately!”
“Before this planet meets its end!”
Dismissal
Yujin’s response?
“…?”
“This is a creative way to beg for your life.”
He didn’t even flinch.
To him, Paimon was as good as dead. The moment she appeared before him and Aika, her fate had been sealed.
Talk of planetary destruction and other dimensions? Just desperate nonsense.
In both the game and his first timeline, Paimon had spouted every lie imaginable when death loomed.
[Aika: What’s she saying, my student?]
[Yujin: Nothing worth listening to. Just ignore her.]
[Aika: Understood.]
“Listen, I know this is hard to believe, but this planet—”
“Silence, demon.”
“…What?”
“Do you even realize how much my disciple has suffered because of you?”
Yujin’s judgment became Aika’s judgment—a perfectly rational dismissal of Paimon’s warnings.
“Wait, no! That’s not what’s important right now—”
“You interrupted my duel with my disciple! Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this moment?!”
“But even now, they’re—”
“The mood was perfect, and you ruined it! Take responsibility, you damned demon!”
Determination
Paimon’s face hardened as realization dawned.
Nothing she said would get through—not to Aika, and certainly not to Yujin.
Her gaze flicked toward Yujin’s soul, sensing the presence of Hypnosis-chan and it.
Even so, abandoning him was not an option.
“I won’t let him fall into ruin—not while I can still act!”
The Clash
Mana surged as Paimon prepared to act.
For the first time in her 300 years, she resolved to save someone else.
She lunged toward Yujin.
“I’ll explain later—just come with—”
Shing!
“Where do you think you’re going with my disciple?!”
Standing in her way was the world’s strongest Awakened.
Aika’s blade shimmered with violet mana as she prepared to strike.
[Aika: Shall we kill her, my student?]
[Yujin: Yes. Let’s end this for good.]
[Aika: Understood.]
Aika wasted no time.
“Wait, I’m telling you, this is for his own—”
“Silence and die, you thieving cat!”
Slash.
Her sword cleaved through Paimon’s unprotected neck with precision, hesitation nowhere in sight.
A thin, crimson line formed across Paimon’s brown skin.
‘…Huh? Just now, what was that?’
Her vision twisted, the world flipping upside down.
‘No way… did I just get decapitated?’
Her severed head flew through the air, followed by her body crumpling to the ground.
The self-proclaimed demon queen who had once threatened to burn the world had met a remarkably anticlimactic demise.
Or so it seemed.
Fwoosh!
‘Tch. As expected of Ninomiya Aika. I guess dying once was unavoidable.’
The Endless Cycle
Paimon was far from finished.
Her scattered fragments, scattered across the world, ensured her survival.
Her flesh might turn to ash, but her soul would always reform, her mana reconstituting her body anew.
A trait Yujin had aptly dubbed: Unlimited Revival.
Killing her outright wasn’t an easy feat. A single decapitation wasn’t enough.
‘Just wait, Seo Yujin. I’ll come back for you... and I’ll save you this time!’
As her body dissolved into dust, she cast one last glance at Yujin, her determination unwavering.
But then—
‘—Hey, hey, where do you think you’re going, local punching bag?’
Swish. Thunk.
“Huh?”
Her escaping soul was yanked back into her severed head.
It was as if an invisible hand snatched her away, muttering, “Nope, you’re not going anywhere!”
Yujin’s Move
Yujin was the culprit.
‘It’s child’s play to keep our local punching bag from running off.’
Complete Hypnosis had fundamentally altered the rules of her very existence.
Her Unlimited Revival relied on her soul escaping and reforming elsewhere. Yujin’s abilities countered this perfectly, trapping her in place.
Her broken resurrection mechanism left her at his mercy.
‘Damn it! Why now? I have no choice but to repair this body!’
The Grotesque Revival
Mana flared violently as Paimon was forced to reconstruct her severed body.
“Haa… haa…!!!”
“She’s reattaching her neck?! I’ve never seen anything like this!”
The Awakened gasped as her severed head and body fused back together, mana seeping from the wounds like molten light.
What had been speculation about her demonic nature was now undeniable.
[Aika: Keep striking until her mana is gone.]
[Yujin: I’ve got you covered. Let’s finish this.]
Slash! Slashslashslash!
Blows rained down on Paimon mercilessly, the speed making her barely visible amidst the onslaught.
“Guhh… aaagh…!?”
‘My mana… it’s draining too fast!’
Even with her Unlimited Revival, resurrection consumed immense mana.
Being forced to revive hundreds of times per second drained her reserves rapidly.
It only took three minutes for her to exhaust her mana completely.
The Final Blow
“Guh… kkhh…”
Clink.
“It seems this is the end, my disciple.”
“Yes. She won’t revive again.”
Paimon lay collapsed on the ground, unable to move, her body twitching weakly.
No one spared her an ounce of pity.
“She really was a demon… if Ninomiya-san weren’t here…”
“Could she have been behind Seol Hayeon’s attack? With that mana level, explosions would be easy.”
“She even targeted President Seo Yujin. She must be destroyed!”
“She must die!”
The room buzzed with fury, the atmosphere turning increasingly hostile.
Paimon trembled, sensing the crowd’s bloodlust.
But there was nothing she could do to change her fate.
“Master, may I land the final blow?”
“…Of course. You’ve done all the work, so you should finish it.”
“Yes.”
Yujin raised his sword, standing above Paimon. The time had come to end the demon queen once and for all.
The Demon’s Desperate Plea
“N-no… w-wait…!!!”
‘If I die here, then you’ll perish soon after! This planet will fall!’
Her voice barely came out, weak and broken from exhaustion and mental strain.
Having endured countless deaths in mere minutes, she could no longer speak coherently.
“Then, I’ll now conclude the subjugation of the demon, Paimon.”
Whoosh.
Yujin’s sword swung without hesitation, unaware that Paimon’s cryptic warnings carried a truth he had yet to uncover.
Interruption
Suddenly—
BAM!
“STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!!”
‘My youth potion!!!’
Seol Hayeon burst into the scene.
The Unexpected Twist
Before anyone could react further—
“Blergh!!!”
“Blaaarrghhhh…!”
“Disciple! Paimon aside, why are you suddenly throwing up as well?!”
It wasn’t until both Paimon and Yujin collapsed, vomiting violently side by side, that anyone questioned what was happening.
Until that moment, everyone had assumed they were on the brink of death.